Chaos
by DarkZero93
Summary: A new take on the classic Prototype story and a new chapter featuring a young woman by the name of Jessica on a quest for answers and vengeance. Cliche but effective I believe... JP
1. Chapter 1

**Chaos, Origin**

Jessica Reynolds, a thin and dark headed girl of seventeen, stood silent and stunned as she watched her parents gunned down in front of her by a squad of Blackwatch troopers. Supposedly they were among those believed to be infected with the strange virus that was contaminating New York, and turning its denizens into walking corpses straight out of a horror film.

Around her, there was chaos and Jessica could hear distant explosions. A line of tanks and soldiers formed a perimeter that was keeping the infected at bay while they herded her and about thirty other citizens into a tight group.

"Alright," said one of the Blackwatch commanders with a loud voice. "You have all been selected as test subjects for a few of Gentek's infected observations. Proceed into that massive fracture at once. There will be Gentek scientists waiting on the other side to give you further instructions. No bullshit will be tolerated."

"But you can't just-" The man who was protesting was killed with a single bullet to the head before he could finish his sentence.

"Move!" Ordered the Commander. The rest of them did as he said, all chattering under their breath.

Jessica wasn't even concentrating. She already felt dead. These tests would just confirm it.

Then the line of tanks to the right just exploded one by one. People around Jessica began to run in multiple directions while the blackened hulks of burning tanks bounced noisily around the place.

Jessica was frozen. She merely crouched down with her head tucked against her chest, half wishing she was already dead.

At that moment something grabbed her. She was flying through the air as explosions echoed around her. Then Jessica lost consciousness.

"…say she's another one," said a male voice, though it sounded muffled. "We'll lock her in with the test subjects and see if she's worth studying."

Jessica opened her eyes blearily as she was dumped onto the ground. A large steel door slammed shut behind her.

As she got to her feet, she became aware of her condition. She was naked from the waist up, and her jeans were scuffed and torn in multiple places. Glowing red lines stretched through her body occasionally, and every pulse sent a sting through her torso and legs.

_What happened to me?_ She thought.

Then a noise reached her ears. It was the sound of an infected…she knew it. Sure enough, one of them came lumbering at her a second later.

It tackled into her and knocked her to the ground. Jessica yelped and kicked at it. The force of her kick, which she thought hadn't been much, had sent the creature flying across the room.

"Surprising strength," said a voice from somewhere, over an intercom. "Quite remarkable."

As Jessica got to her feet, more of the infected creatures came barreling towards her. They clawed at her with bloodstained hands, yelling and moaning all the while, yet she felt no pain from their assault. Jessica only felt the force of their blows.

She began to attack them one at a time. Each blow sent one of the bastards flying and soon they were all dead or pulpy masses smeared across the walls.

"I'm not sure we can contain the subject," said the voice over the intercom again. "Perhaps we should-"

Then they screamed and an explosion of glass and metal followed. An alert sounded from somewhere.

One of the scientists landed next to Jessica. She glanced around before taking his lab coat and putting it on overtop her bare chest. One thing she did was tear the sleeves off, as long sleeves had always made her feel uncomfortable. It was more of a force of habit to her at this point.

Someone landed next to her. Jessica looked up and stumbled over in surprise to find Alex Mercer standing there. Then he grabbed her and pulled her with him as he smashed his way out of the building.

They landed on a rooftop not too far from the now ruined lab that was being circled by Blackwatch forces.

"Take it easy, Jessica," said Mercer.

She looked up at him. "What do you want from me?"

Alex Mercer watched her for another second, and then walked over to the edge of the building. "You see this?" He gestured out at the Blackwatch and Gentek forces that were swarming over the scene they had just vacated like ants. "Those are the people responsible for this virus that has plunged the city into chaos."

Jessica walked over to where he was. "What did you do to me?" She looked at her arm. Even as she watched it, it pulsated violently, but then became calm once more.

"I gave you a gift," Alex said sympathetically.

"More like a punishment," Jessica replied bitterly.

Alex smirked. "Maybe…but not for you. You had to watch Blackwatch agents gun down your parents. On top of that, Gentek has been experimenting on and killing innocent civilians, some of whom were no doubt your friends." Alex put his hand on her shoulder. "I gave you the means with which to strike back. With it, you'll create chaos among their ranks."

Jessica looked back at her arm.

"That's why I'm giving you the codename, Chaos…FYI." When Jessica looked back up, Alex Mercer was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chaos II**

"Sergeant," Captain Evan Blake said fiercely into his comm device. "Sergeant, I need a sitrep!"

There was static from the other end, and then Sergeant Black came back saying, "I'd give you one sir, but I can't figure out what the hell's going on." There was a sound of an explosion from Black's end.

"Get it under control," ordered the Captain. "We can't afford any setbacks right now!"

# # #

Jessica Reynolds had spent two days with these strange powers that Alex Mercer had given her and already she was getting the hang of them. She dove through hordes of Blackwatch soldiers, slicing them into red meaty chunks with a blade that her arm had mutated into.

She was fast. Too fast for any of the soldiers to even see her. Their shots missed her by miles, and even if they did hit her, Jessica barely felt it.

When Foxtrot base seven-three-seven was burning and in chaos, Jessica grabbed one of the bleeding soldiers by the throat. He gagged as her hand clamped on his windpipe with a vice grip.

Jessica pulled him up to where his eyes were level with hers, only his helmet concealed his face.

"Where are your friends hiding?" She demanded. Without waiting for an answer, she slammed him onto the ground and smashed his head with her foot, absorbing him in the process.

The soldier's memories came flooding into her mind like a tsunami.

"_Sergeant Black, you're ordered to report to base Foxtrot seven-three-seven."_

"_Understood, Captain. Did the brass tell you who's filling my position at Bravo four-one?"_

"_None of your damn business, Sergeant."_

Jessica returned to herself, still shaken by what had occurred. That was only the second time she had absorbed someone. It still made her queasy knowing that they were a part of her now.

The sound of rotor wings brought her back to reality. _Choppers_, she thought. She focused her mind and shifted her form into that of the Sergeant she had just absorbed. No sooner had she done that than did she see the choppers fly out from in between some buildings several blocks away.

An APC rolled into the destroyed compound. Jessica adopted an injured look and faked a limp as she walked over to the vehicle. Another soldier was just getting out. He spotted her immediately.

It was Lieutenant Mark Harrison. She recognized him from the Sergeant's memories, and she knew exactly how to greet him.

"Lieutenant," Jessica barked in as gruff a voice as she could manage. She saluted as well, making it look like an effort.

"Sergeant Black," Lieutenant Harrison said. "Report."

"Most if not all of the men are dead or wounded," Jessica replied. "The target was too fast for us. Damage to the facility is catastrophic, sir."

Harrison looked behind him at the buildings of Brooklyn. "Did you see where it went?"

"Yes sir," Jessica said. "It was headed north…probably toward Alpha base."

The Lieutenant raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with your voice, Sergeant? It sounds…off."

"I got hit pretty hard, sir," replied Jessica. "It's really hard to focus right now."

"Very well," Harrison said. "I'm going to inspect the damage. You'll need to report to Alpha base as soon as possible…hopefully before our target gets there."

"Understood, sir!" With that, Jessica left at a quick pace, still faking her injuries. Before she had taken more than six steps, there was an explosion from what remained of the base. One of the last reactors had finally gone up in flames.

In the commotion that followed, Jessica managed to slip away from the other soldiers and down a nearby alleyway. Once there, she reverted to her original form.

Sergeant Black's military uniform was replaced by a black tee shirt and black cargo pants. She had already been wearing combat boots, so those didn't look much different.

Brushing her hair back behind her eyes, Jessica looked up the building in front of her. It was tall and slightly dilapidated compared to some of Brooklyn's other buildings, but it was no trouble for her.

Jessica sprinted towards the building and jumped, planting her right foot firmly against the wall. Her left foot followed, and then again her right. She never slowed her pace as she charged her way up the building. Before long, she'd reached the top.

For a bit of extra flair, she flipped over the edge of the roof and planted her feet and right hand against the roof. She looked up and found Alex Mercer waiting for her.

"How did you know I'd be here?" Jessica inquired.

"I know that to find you," Mercer replied, "I need to find the biggest explosions." He paused. "You've been doing well, but I need you to be a little more discreet with Alpha base."

"Why?"

"I've heard rumors that Gentek and Blackwatch are developing a cure to their so called Mercer Virus." Alex said the last two words with distaste. "I'm going to need whatever data you can collect, but it needs to be discreet."

Jessica flexed her neck muscles. "It's not really my forte, but I can handle it."

"Of course you can." Alex jumped over the edge of the building and was gone. Jessica, knowing Alpha base's location, sprinted over to the edge of the building and began jumping and gliding her way over the rooftops of the Brooklyn neighborhood.

She stopped and crouched on a building on the edge of a small park. Alpha base stood on the other side. The only thing odd was that it looked more like a Gentek facility than a military base.

_May not be as easy as I thought_, she said to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chaos III**

_(Note: This is all set between the events of Prototype One and Prototype Two. I'll explain more in later chapters.)_

# # #

Jessica had assumed her Sergeant Black disguise in order to infiltrate the perimeter of the Alpha base Gentek facility, but she realized very quickly that it wouldn't get her into the base.

_Enlisted personnel must not be trusted with classified information_, she thought.

Her mind began tingling and her attention was directed to a Gentek scientist who was wearing a blue hazmat suit, as was traditional in their company.

"Got it," Jessica heard him saying. "I'm on my way. Just try not to let the subjects out until I get there."

He never saw Jessica come up behind him and silence him by twisting his neck. She absorbed him immediately after, assuming his identity. No one was any the wiser.

His memories flooded into her like a tidal wave, just like before.

"_Doctor Nichols, could you spare a moment?"_

"_What is it, Daniel? I'm busy."_

"_It's just…the infected subjects seem to be responding well to our experiments. We've isolated the genetic strand within certain infected that seems to be creating the mutated monsters…the brawlers."_

"_Go with whatever you have. Gentek expects results, and we're going to get them."_

Jessica saw visions of infected being kept in cages. The scientists were probing them for information. It was some form of genetic analysis that they were using to try and cure them.

The scientific knowledge almost gave her a headache, but strangely Jessica could understand it.

_Whether or not it matters, I have what I need to get into that facility._

Over by the door, Jessica saw a scanner of some kind. As she watched, another scientist walked up to it and slid his hand inside of it. Then he opened the door and walked inside.

_Seems like pretty basic security._

Jessica walked up to the scanner and did the same thing. Sure enough, there was an audible ding and the door clicked. When she pulled the handle, it opened. She walked inside quickly and beheld a massive interior.

The chamber was filled with high ranking Blackwatch personnel carrying assault rifles. They were monitoring the scientists, some of whom wore labcoats while others sported the same blue hazmat suit that Jessica wore.

Jessica started walking toward a staircase that would permit her to access the upper tier of the building. As she did so, she was acutely aware of an uncomfortable feeling coming from most of her borrowed body. Jessica was still getting used to the male skin. It didn't feel natural and made her shudder when she thought about it.

She gained access to the upper floor with ease, and found a few infected in cages up here. Scientists milled about exchanging notes, having heated discussions, and staring at computer screens like there was some hidden secret in the raw data that poured across them.

It took a bit of searching, but Jessica eventually found a few samples over by a computer terminal that held the necessary data. She could tell because of Dr. Nichols' memories.

She took a nearby data card and with a few taps of the keyboard she had the data copied to it. Jessica also took it upon herself to discreetly slip one of the samples into her pocket.

There was a beeping noise from behind her. She turned and was grabbed by the throat by a Blackwatch soldier.

"Well, well," he said in a gruff voice. "Another of Mercer's pets."

Jessica, her game up, reverted back to her normal form and shifted her hands into claws. She swiftly jammed them into the soldiers gut and, with great force, ripped him in half.

The scientists ran for the doors, with an alarm blaring all the while.

In some fit of psychotic rage, Jessica moved about them and began absorbing them one at a time. Their memories began to mix together in a cacophony that was about to give her a headache. She stopped after the eighth one and found more Blackwatch cornering her.

"Fire!" Ordered the CO. A barrage of bullets ripped into Jessica. It hurt, but she wasn't dead. Instead, she formed her blade once more and began carving her way through the soldiers. Stopping occasionally to absorb one or two.

"God!" One of them yelled. "She's eating them!" Then he vomited onto the ground in front of his feet.

Jessica ignored him and dove through Alpha base like a rampaging rhino. Within seconds, the ground was stained red with blood, but she was already on her way up a distant building.

Alex Mercer was once again waiting for her.

"I see that you neglected to obey my orders," Mercer said darkly.

"They sniffed me out," Jessica said. She pulled out the data card and sample. "But not before I grabbed these." He took them both and nodded.

"Excellent," said Mercer. "I had no idea they were already formulating a cure. You've done well, Chaos. Your new siblings would do well to follow your example."

He jumped over the edge of the building and vanished once more.

"He vanishes too damn fast," she said to herself.

Jessica felt a buzz from her cell phone. She pulled it out and found that someone was calling her, but the number was unknown. She answered it.

"Hello?"

There was a second of silence, and then a woman's voice said, "I have the truth, Chaos. If you ever want to know, I'll get in touch with you." Then the mysterious woman hung up, leaving Jessica to ponder her words.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chaos IV**

(Author's Note: This chapter may be a little short, but bear with me on this. The later chapters will be a little more deep. By the way, thanks for the reviews. I appreciate the comments and I'm working to get this story finished ASAP)

Brian Reynolds checked his wristwatch. It was getting late and he still wasn't here. Time wasn't really an issue, but Brian hated waiting.

At last, he arrived. Alex Mercer casually flipped over the edge of the building and strolled over toward Brian. "Do you have it?"

Brian tossed him a vial, which he caught. "This compound is supposed to reverse the mutations caused by the Mercer virus. Gentek's calling it 'Whitelight'."

Mercer nodded. "So I understand. Did you extract any details from the scientists?"

"Not enough…not yet."

"Get on that," added Mercer. "I don't need to remind you of its importance." He turned to leave, but then said, "Oh, and do keep an eye on your cousin."

"Jessica?" Brian inquired.

"Yes," Mercer said. "Keep her in one piece if you can. She's more vital to the plan than she realizes."

Jessica knocked on the door of the apartment. The door opened just a crack, but then was thrown open and she was pulled inside.

"Hey, watch it!" She said fiercely to the two women.

Jessica recognized one of the women as Dana Mercer. She had been contacted by Dana a mere three days ago. In that time, Jessica had worked on weakening Blackwatch and furthering Alex Mercer's plans for New York.

The other woman, Jessica couldn't recognize. She looked official, but not Gentek.

"Chaos," Dana told her, "this is Doctor Harriet Lee. She's an expert in the field of Genetics, particularly mutations of the kind that you and my brother have experienced."

"I need to examine you for a minute," Dr. Lee said, emotionless. "Take off your clothes."

"What?" Jessica exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"All of them," Lee added. "Quickly would be nice."

"Just do it," Dana reassured Jessica. "She won't bite…and I promise I won't look." She turned to her computer screen.

Jessica sneered and started removing her articles of clothing. First her shoes and socks, then her shirt and pants.

"Those too," Lee said, gesturing at Jessica's underwear.

"What the hell?"

"I have to examine all of you," Lee retorted. "You'll thank me later."

Jessica sighed and shakily removed her underwear. "This feels so wrong."

Doctor Lee started looking her over, examining the odd pulsing veins of red that occasionally revealed themselves. She began prodding her in multiple places, some of it felt incredibly invasive.

When she was finished with her examination, Lee told her, "You can get dressed now." Jessica did so quickly.

Once Jessica was dressed, Dana turned around. "How does she look, Doctor?"

"Scrawny," Doctor Lee said. "Her mutations are benign for an evolved, although I can't really tell from a simple examination of her body. I'd need to run more thorough tests."

"There is no way I'm letting you go any further," Jessica grunted.

"Mercer might have planted some form of mutated seed inside of you," Doctor Lee said. "The only way to tell is if I run a few thorough tests to see what's up your-"

"Enough, Doctor," Dana cut her off. "Provoking Chaos won't change anything. We need her on our side too."

Lee crossed her arms but said nothing.

Jessica looked at Dana. "What is it you want from me?"

"I want to inform you of a few things." Dana stood up and walked over toward her. "First and foremost is that my brother, Alex, is not who you think he is. Second, is that Harriet and I believe that you are going to become a vital tool for his plans."

"So?"

"You'd be more of a pawn than anything," said Lee.

"That's the best case scenario," Dana added.

Jessica glanced from one woman to the other. "Dare I ask what the worst case scenario is?"

There was no response.

"We can't take up too much time here," Lee told Dana. "Mercer expects his prized Chaos to be out living up to her name."

"You're right," Dana said. She gave Jessica her phone number. "When you contact me, remember that my code name is Athena."

Lee looked at her again. "We've done what we needed to do. Keep your eyes open, Chaos. Things will start to change soon."

Jessica started for the door. As she opened it, she turned and said, "For the record, my name is Jessica Reynolds." She left without another word.

(Post Script: This chapter serves more as an introductory chapter for the new characters. As I said, it is shorter, but I'm going somewhere with this.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chaos V**

The soldier groaned as Brian pulled him up and slammed him into a nearby wall. His fist then turned the man's head into a bloody pulp. His body then melted into a mass of genetic material that began to sink its way into Brian's body. The soldier's memories were added to the mix.

A crash from his left told Brian that a brawler had come to see him off. It roared deafeningly and charged at him, but Brian was already upon it.

With a series of kicks, punches, and claw swipes, the brawler was on the ground. Brian's fist punched a hole clean through its gut, and the beast was added to the mix of genetic material that he had already absorbed.

He grunted as his body began to undergo another mutation. He was growing stronger.

# # #

Jessica ripped the soldier she was holding in half with an almighty jerk. There was an audible and disgusting ripping noise, but the soldier's two halves were already being absorbed by Jessica.

_More memories. More answers._

She still wasn't any closer to figuring out the truth it would seem, as every question answered always opened up ten more.

"Give me a firing solution!" She heard someone yelling from an earpiece that she picked up from the dead soldier.

"I can't!"

"Get one, Sergeant! NOW!"

Jessica was moving again, dashing around this new battlefield in the Red Zone of NYZ on a self induced blood rage of sorts. Her blade was flying around in a flurry of blood and steel, and soldiers dropped by the dozens. As was natural, she stopped to absorb one or two of them, but it made no difference. No new information.

"Target is tearing through Charlie squadron," someone said. "Bring in the gunships."

"They're already there, Lieutenant," was the reply.

The unmistakable sound of rotor wings reached Jessica's ears. She looked up to see a fleet of military grade choppers bearing down on her with their miniguns preparing to turn her into swiss cheese.

She snarled and jumped towards a nearby building. The wall cracked as she landed against it and sprinted up towards the top. When she was halfway there she flipped backwards off of the wall, morphed her right arm into a whipfist, and launched it toward the nearest chopper.

It latched on and she promptly pulled herself toward it, landing on the left side of the cockpit's exterior.

"Holy shit!" The pilot exclaimed, "She's-" He never finished his statement. Jessica was already absorbing him in a was of red and black genetic material that melted into her skin, as always.

This time, in addition to Gentek and Blackwatch related memories, she also received the pilot's knowledge on gunship control. Jessica promptly grabbed the steering yoke and worked her fingers over the controls.

Soon enough, she had the other gunships brought down with missiles.

Once hers was the only bird in the air, she opened up with the minigun on the remaining soldiers that were running for cover on the ground.

"Command," Jessica radioed in, not disguising her voice, "your entire task force has been eliminated. I would advise against sending any more of them, unless the soldiers have death wishes." She smashed the radio before they could respond, and jumped free of the gunship.

Jessica safely glided down to a nearby rooftop, but the gunship spiraled out of control and crashed into a street crowded with infected. There was an explosion of blood and fire, and then nothing.

"You're doing well for yourself, Chaos," said a voice from behind her. Jessica turned and found a strange but familiar man striding toward her.

"Who are you?" She asked defensively.

"Brian Reynolds," he replied. "I'm your cousin, and one of Mercer's top agents." He walked over to the edge of the building. "He asked me to keep an eye on you."

"I don't need any help," Jessica shot back.

"Mercer's merely protecting his greatest investment," Brian sighed. "You're the one he has the most hopes for."

"What do you mean?"

"He's impressed with your resilience, you see," Brian went on. "Your determination, your motivations…" He gave her the once over. "Your form. He admires you, and wants your powers to grow equal with his."

"The reason?" She asked her cousin.

Brian shrugged. "Hell if I know…but if I had to guess, he's planning on making you the…mother…of his new race. Very few have what you have."

Jessica was shocked at his revelation, but kept talking. "What do I have?"

"Secrets are buried in your genetic code," Brian told her. "Not many people have the resilience that you do. Not even the great Alex Mercer." He held up a finger. "You do. You will be the mother of his children when you are ready. You will give rise to a new breed of humans…evolved. Some would envy you. You'll be the equivalent to a Queen."

Unconvinced, Jessica said, "You're holding something back."

"Am I?" Brian chuckled. "Well, that's just another mystery for you to solve." With that, he jumped over the edge of the building.

When she was certain that Brian was gone, Jessica pulled out her cell phone and gave Dana a call.

"Athena," she said, "I've got some strange news."

"Hit me."

"Turns out that my cousin, Brian, is one of your brother's top agents," replied Jessica. "He's keeping any eye on me for Mercer. He didn't give me any details, but I'm pretty sure that Mercer has him spying on me."

Dana sighed. "Okay, that's going to complicate things. Anything else?"

"Yeah," said Jessica. "The last Blackwatch soldier I…interrogated…said something about an infected hive near here where Gentek is conducting more of its damn research."

"They are hell bent on developing this bio-weapon of theirs," replied Dana. "Oh, and you don't need to be circumspect. I know that you absorb the genetic material of your victims."

Jessica rubbed her temples but didn't respond to the comment. "I'm going to neutralize this hive…see if I can't dig up any more intel. Also, look up a man named Colonel Rooks. I heard…well, absorbed some knowledge about him. He's supposed to be taking over the operations in New York Zero."

"Right away, I'll let you know what I turn up," Dana replied in farewell.

Jessica hung up, still thinking. _How close is Gentek to developing this Whitelight thing?_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chaos VI**

Jessica slowly lowered herself down the ladder that led into the hive, disguised as a Gentek scientist. As she did so, she reviewed in her head everything she had learned from the nearby /Blacknet terminal.

This hive was apparently crawling with Brawlers. The scientists were in a confined area on the north side and were attempting to capture a few of the beasts for an additional study.

According to the reports, the Whitelight seemed to be having an unanticipated effect on the Brawlers. They were becoming more aggressive…some were mutating further.

Down in the hive, there was a buzz of activity among the small group of scientists. Most of them were at the observation area, running their eyes over a scene of chaos down below.

The Brawlers looked to be fighting themselves.

"Doctor Everett," someone said, "have you finished the blood tests?"

"I have," was the reply. "They are…inconclusive."

"Then run them again."

Jessica moved about the lab, examining everything and taking in as much visual data as she could before moving to tear the place apart.

When she decided she'd seen enough, Jessica reverted to her normal form, formed her blade, and began slicing through and absorbing the scientists. There was pandemonium for only a few seconds, and then there was silence in the observation post.

All except for a beeping noise.

_Bomb!_ Blackwatch knew she was down here.

A massive explosion knocked her off her feet and sent her flying through the observational viewport that separated the lab from the Brawlers. Jessica landed right in the middle of the horde.

She cursed audibly as two of the behemoths came charging right for her.

_These are some of the ugliest bitches I've ever seen_, she thought as she jumped toward them. In a fit of rage, she slashed into both of them with her blade until they were cut to ribbons, and then formed both of her arms into whipfists, draining both of the Brawlers at once, as if the whipfists were straws.

Her body convulsed a few times once the Brawlers were absorbed, but she ignored it. Jessica's hands became claws as she dove into another group of Brawlers. She'd only killed and absorbed one before she was knocked off her feet by another one of the things.

She flew across the room and into a wall, but recovered quickly. Two more Brawlers were coming at her from the right, and one from the left. With a series of acrobatic moves that she didn't know she knew, Jessica leapt over them, clawed into one from behind and absorbed it after decapitating it.

Jessica ducked under the claw swipe of another Brawler and, having shifted her arm into her blade once more, drove her blade into it relentlessly, absorbing it as she did so.

She absorbed the other one after several deft strikes.

Jessica looked around and found another ten Brawlers prowling around her, growling as they watched her.

_It's never over_, she thought bitterly as the Brawlers dove toward her.

# # #

Hours later, Jessica finally climbed out of the hive. The sky above was dark and a driving rain was falling, but that wasn't Jessica's primary concern.

Her gut felt as though it was about to explode. Her arms ached and she had a migraine. Yet somehow, she was able to move.

Jessica dashed up a nearby building to the safety of a rooftop. Once there, her gut lurched again and she vomited up something that looked like blood, but it was too thin and tasted foul.

At that moment, her arms grew extremely heavy. They started mutating into what looked like boulders while the arms themselves became thick red and black tendrils. She knew immediately what sort of mutation she'd gained.

The other evolved called them hammerfists.

"Congratulations," said the voice of Brian Reynolds. "You're evolving."

Jessica turned to him, her arms reverting back to normal. "I've heard that that's a good thing."

"It is," Brian replied. "Remember that the ultimate goal of evolution is survival."

"Why did Mercer send you here?"

Brian clasped his hands behind his back. "He sent me to inform you that the time is close at hand. Your evolution has nearly reached critical level, and that's what he's looking for."

Jessica crossed her arms. "And then…?"

"Tomorrow night, on top of the Gentek building," Brian said. "I'll meet you there to take you to Alex Mercer." With that he was gone.

# # #

"Doctor Lee and I have figured a few things out, and you may want to hear them."

Jessica looked from Dana to Harriet. "Hit me."

"Alex is planning on turning you into the…mother…of his new breed of human," Harriet said. "We don't know what his plan is for the Whitelight, but with you…he's probably hoping that he won't need it."

"Precisely," Dana agreed. "It's going to complicate things for him if the Whitelight cure is actually released and it looks as though Gentek has almost made a breakthrough."

"As if things weren't bad enough," Jessica sighed.

"Mercer is planning to use you," Harriet said darkly, "and it's highly likely, almost a certainty, that you won't survive his bonding process…but he'll get what he wants in the end no matter what."

Jessica leaned back against a wall. "So…Mercer doesn't care about anything but himself and his own goals?"

"You could say that," Dana said, "but there's probably more to it."

"He's just concerned with his future breed of evolved," Harriet replied. She then turned back to Jessica. "Either way, Jessica…if you go through with Mercer's plan, you won't be around for much longer."

"He'll probably try to sugar coat it for my sake," Jessica said.

Dana nodded, and Harriet said nothing.

"Anything else?"

Harriet walked over toward the door. "I need to get the hell out of New York Zero. I hear Paris is lovely this time of year…and there are fewer mutants tearing the city apart."

She left that very minute.

Jessica exchanged a glance with Dana. The latter shrugged and said, "Well, she's always had a thing for abrupt goodbyes."

"So," Jessica then said, "what should I do?"

"Confront my brother," Dana said, "or, better yet, just go on ahead and get the hell out of NYZ."

Jessica sighed. "My asshole of a cousin won't like that very much. I'll have to deal with him first."

Dana shook her head and said, "Where are you planning on going?"

"I don't want to disclose that bit of information," Jessica said, "but it won't be anywhere near New York Zero."

"So long," Dana said as Jessica walked out the door. "Oh, and Jess…" Jessica looked back at her before she left, then Dana said, "have fun."

(There's only one more chapter to go in this story, but…as I said…there is going to be a sequel.)


	7. Chapter 7

**Chaos VII**

Jessica landed on top of the New York Stock Exchange building only to find her cousin waiting for her.

"Jessica," he said. "You surprise me. I thought I told you to meet me on the top of the Gentek building."

"Not happening," Jessica replied. "I know Mercer's plan and it isn't going to work."

Down below on the streets, Jessica could hear the noise of a mob of angry New Yorkers clashing with Blackwatch forces.

"I've got no quarrel with you, Brian," Jessica said. "I'm getting out of this city. If you were smart, you'd do the same."

Brian walked over to her. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"You'll be afraid of a lot more if you don't get out of my face," Jessica told him.

"You are to be the mother of the future race of evolved," Brian said, exasperated. "What could possibly be so wrong with that?"

"Over the past two weeks I've been learning more and more about Mercer's plan," Jessica yelled. "I know what he plans to do to me, and I won't allow it. Revenge isn't worth it!"

"This is about more than your parents!" Brian shot back. "This is about the future! Evolution is about survival of the fittest."

Jessica didn't respond to his comment, but merely said, "It's over. I'm not going through with it."

Brian watched her for a second, and then he moved. Jessica barely had time to bring her blade up to block his. He forced his way past her guard and slammed her onto the roof of the NYSE building.

"We've both been evolving, Jess," he said viciously. "Let's see who's stronger."

Jessica rolled up and threw her whipfist at him, but he managed to dodge it by rolling to the side. He sprinted towards her, his hands shifting into hammerfists.

Jessica jumped as he landed with a loud crack. She slammed her feet down on top of him, picked him up, and hurled him into a nearby ventilation unit.

Brian launched himself back into her and they both went flying over the edge of the building and down to the street below. Blackwatch was still fighting the civilians, but the appearance of two evolved sent the New Yorkers running.

Ignoring the Blackwatch soldiers, Jessica formed her blade and slashed her way towards Brian. He used his claws to parry and counter her strikes, but Jessica was ready for everything he had.

Blackwatch soldiers were firing at her, but it didn't matter at that moment, as she was too busy keeping an eye on her fast moving cousin. When he did launch himself at her, she was ready.

This time, she used her claws to block his blade. Brian lashed out at her, but Jessica was able to dodge and counter all of his blows.

Eventually, she caught him off guard and overwhelmed him. Jessica took him to the ground and landed fist after fist into him, unaware that she was absorbing him at the same time.

Then his memories hit her.

"_Your cousin is the key, Brian," Alex Mercer was saying. "I must have her. Her strength and resilience are extraordinary."_

"_I understand," Brian said in reply. "She appears to be resistant, though."_

_Mercer laughed. "They always are. The loss is regrettable, but her children will be the dawn of a new era. Few have the type of DNA that she does."_

_Brian sighed. "You should know that…Bulldog is missing."_

"_It's of little concern to me," Mercer replied. "The only thing I'll miss about him is that he had my attitude."_

"_He took a small sample of Whitelight…"_

The memories went on in an echo, but Jessica chose not to hear the rest of them. She sliced her way through the remaining Blackwatch soldiers and sprinted off into the night.

# # #

"…And New York Zero is still a war zone," the news anchor was saying. "We've gotten startling reports that an ex-marine by the name of James Heller has been attacking Blackwatch and Gentek forces in the Yellow and Green zones of the city…"

Jessica was only half listening to the news report. It had been months since she had left NYZ behind and she had no intention of going back. The city was beyond help.

Alex Mercer was still at large, and apparently he was still using Whitelight to his advantage.

Her cell phone rang at that moment. "Hello?"

"Hey," said the voice of Dana Mercer.

"Dana?" Jessica asked. "What is it?"

"Thought I might check in," Dana replied. "It was actually pretty quiet here after your sudden drop off the radar. I heard Alex almost caught up with you on the Queens Bridge."

"Yeah," Jessica said, "but they destroyed it too quickly for him to keep up. Blackwatch actually helped me there."

"So," Dana went on, "You're safe?"

"Relatively," Jessica replied. "Who's this Heller guy?"

"Another evolved with the kind of DNA that you had…you know, resilient?"

"Your brother still hasn't given up his plans?"

Dana sighed. "No, and he's still determined to tear Gentek and Blackwatch apart. After you left, he started putting agents on the inside."

"Sounds pretty smart," Jessica replied.

"Anyway, I need to go," Dana said. "I just wanted to check in on you."

"Sure thing…later." She hung up the phone.

Everything was peaceful here, and she could finally try to be a normal human being again. It was a relatively quiet city and as she looked out the window, her eyes fell on the distant Washington Monument that rose high into the sky.

_Yes_, she thought, _peaceful…_


End file.
